Lisa Loeb's Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Editor's note: Lisa Loeb shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. To read more about Lisa and get a peek inside her kitchen, see our Celebrity Kitchen Tour videos.

These are Lisa Loeb's favorite cookies, a version of Mark Bittman's "Refrigerator (Rolled) Cookies," which appeared in his seminal How to Cook Everything. She substitutes high-in-fiber whole-wheat flour for regular all-purpose flour, uses rich dark brown sugar instead of plain, and adds natural peanut butter and an extra pinch of kosher salt for a rich, nutty flavor. Before baking, she tops each cookie with a dollop of all-fruit jam, which balances out the sophisticated saltiness with the perfect hint of sweetness. If you prefer not to use jam, before baking try sprinkling cookies with good-quality sea salt, such as fleur de sel, to bring out their sweetness.

Preparation

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and beat until thoroughly incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl, add the egg, and beat until smooth, about 20 seconds.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to butter-sugar mixture and beat at low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl, then add milk and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Gather and press dough together, then divide into 2 equal pieces. Using a sheet of waxed paper as an aid, form each piece of dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. (Dough can be made ahead and frozen in an airtight bag for up to 6 months).

Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly butter 2 large baking sheets.

Cut each log crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange slices 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Top each cookie with a 1/2-teaspoon dollop of jam.

Bake cookies until edges are lightly browned and centers are set, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. (Cookies will keep, stored in a covered container at room temperature, up to 2 days.)

Recent Review

These were SO weird. Like, if you are one of the west-coast hippies who grew up without sugar or something you might like them. Given all the butter in them, they should taste a LOT better. I thought I did something wrong because they ran all over the place and didn't set where the dollop of jelly was so I did it again, freezing half the dough and baking them on a pizza stone. Only marginally better on the second try. Bummer. My dog is sad I wasted all that delicious peanut butter.